Bulldogs to investigate Mad Monday controversy

Bulldogs to investigate Mad Monday controversy - Yahoo7

James Graham was just one of the Bulldogs present at the Mad Monday celebrations.

An investigation is underway at the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs after a display of offensive behaviour during their Mad Monday celebrations.

Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg says the controversy will be looked into by the club.

"I spoke with the Ch 9 journalist [Jayne Azzopardi] today and apologised on behalf of the club. That's not how we do our business. Will follow up internally!!" Greenberg said on Twitter.

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman John Grant was similarly disappointed after hearing about the incident.

"I've not seen the report, but based on what I've heard there's no doubt that this is potentially a serious issue," Grant said.

But he urged caution to those jumping to hasty conclusions, and calling for players to be sacked.

"I think you have to wait until we actually find out all the facts.

"The process that we'll now go through is for the club to determine what actually happened, for the club to prepare their own report.

"That will then come to us and we'll have a conversation with them about it."

Dressed in animated costumes and cradling various alcoholic beverages, the usual Mad Monday fun took an ugly turn when the gathered media captured an unidentified man from behind a window shouting sexist abuse at female reporters, News Ltd reports.

The audio and footage were aired on national television last night.

"There are some ladies here to stick their heads in your pants," the man is heard saying.

"Suck me off you dumb dog."

He then sang loudly, "I wanna go and punch you in the face."

Tapping away ashes from his cigarette, it is not known if the man was a player of the team, a staff member or friend.

But it was not the only foul behavior on show at Belmore Oval on the day.

Players were caught taking lewd pictures of one another, unashamedly urinating on the field, and team assistant Fred Ciraldo was also guilty of an expletive rant at cameramen trying to film players arriving in fancy dress.

Greenberg has been at the centre of the push to turn around the team's bad image, but efforts to make the Bulldogs known as a family club have taken a turn for the worse in recent days.

English import James Graham faces one of the most severe suspensions in rugby league history this week for allegedly biting Melbourne Storm fullback Billy Slater during Canterbury's loss in the NRL Grand Final. It's another sorry moment in Graham's career. Earlier this year the NRL was forced to ban the big front-rower's unsportsmanlike tactic of smothering vaseline on his legs, making it harder for opposition players to tackle him.

Bulldogs fans were also involved in a small riot with police officers as the Grand Final came to an end.